1. Field of Invention
There are three kinds of sliding doors: folding, sliding planes (outside or into the wall), and sliding parallel strips. The invention corresponds to the last situation when used near two walls at an angle. All the articulated doors presently in use are hanging on vertically rolling wheels connected by axial rods, to the articulated strips, but technically this is a poor design that doesn't operate well. In all these articulated doors, the flanges of the wheel slides on the high guide and the curved part of the high guide must turn the door. The inside surface of the wheel which touches the curved part of the guide, in fact, pushes the guide; in curves with small radius, the wheel tries to climb the guide, causing a braking effect against the sliding door. To overcome this effect, the strength needed to operate the door must increase, resulting in damage to all door parts as well as the guide. The damaged door needs more and more power to slide, and after a short time, becomes useless.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Patents relating to the field of the present invention are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,099,399: R. Schneider, Jr. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,896,748; J. M. Kirkpatrick PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,116,847; E. K. Pilcher
The Schneider patent shows a sliding door hanger having vertical roller wheels, but is preferred embodiment is for a flat portion of a freight car; no provision is made for the turning of a corner by the door. The Kirkpatrick patent shows the construction of a door, gate, or partition hung from a moving guide that slides on a track made from two straight sections at right angles connected by a diagonal third straight section causing oblique changes in direction of travel of the guide. This constuction has some similarity to that of the present invention, but its hanging guide comprises only vertical wheels, which is a construction not well suited for traveling around a sharp corner. The Pilcher patent shows a flexible screen with sections secured together by hinged joints each of which comprises a rod and semitubular member interlocking in such a way that adjacent sections may bend smoothly at the joint allowing the screen to travel on a curved track. This construction, however, is entirely different from that of the present invention.